Essential Tips for Traveling with Cannabis
Traveling with cannabis requires planning and awareness of the complex legality between jurisdictions. With totally different laws on the legality of cannabis flying from state-to-state (medically or recreationally), travel can be tricky if planning isn’t made or if you didn’t look further into the area you were traveling to and the potential restrictions of bringing cannabis in.
Know the Law
Cannabis laws vary greatly between states, provinces, and countries, so you have to understand the law no matter what you choose. There are clear ‘no-no’ zones for cannabis; airports, national parks, and federal property can’t hold it, even if your state or province says it’s legal. Traveling to another country can heighten this risk into actively criminal records with travel bans.
Some regions will legally recognize cannabis medicine, like certain medical marijuana patients from out of state access through reciprocity provisions, while others may not acknowledge any medicine at all. Because of this, documenting the legalities of cannabis for specific destinations for medical users can take time.
Traveling With Cannabis
Flying creates the most risk, even domestically, because all aerial travel occurs in federal airspace where cannabis is prohibited. (even if traveling only between legal States).
Traveling with cannabis by vehicle is a little easier between known legal or at least permitted jurisdictions; just remember to know the laws on roads you’re travelling, especially in terms of cannabis.
Public transportation and ferries is another method of transport all together for cannabis. Each mode in each jurisdiction has it’s own restrictions on cannabis so be sure to research if there is a right provided by local law or from the carrier company.
Storing and Transporting Cannabis
The original package of cannabis is still the strongest legal protection due to the packaging documentation on compliance, test results, and/or labelling. By transferring product into an unmarked container you are only taking away all protections and now may look suspicious if questioned by law enforcement.
Keep your cannabis products in storage that is airtight and odor proof, you can avoid possible unwanted detection and delivery of quality products. If you’re bringing a product as a medical patient, it’s best to have your physician recommendation, medical designation, and/or written prescription with the product being transported.
Alternatives
When and where cannabis is legal, consider purchasing at your destination. This eliminates a significant amount of risk when transporting, while supporting the local economy and respecting the laws at your destination.
In travelling with cannabis, or peculiar or unique travel circumstances, it’s always important to consult with legal practitioners that have expertise with cannabis laws where you may be transporting cannabis, especially if you’re carrying considerable quantities of cannabis, common route with another jurisdiction, or valuing your assets.
Emergency Preparedness
If you can, do your research before travelling to have names and contacts of cannabis friendly lawyer locations at your destination. That’s the biggest thing you need if the undesirables occur.
Be aware of local bail processes and contact numbers just in case. Remember, charges with cannabis can also lead to detention even in regions that may be permissive with cannabis laws under certain circumstances.
Document all the cannabis products you will have – pictures of the purchase with receipt cards if possible – this will assist to show it was purchased legally and not sourced out of origin jurisdiction.
Traveling with cannabis successfully requires thorough planning, the law for the destination, and a certain level of risk to evaluate before travelling routes.